Sleep-inducing victory should suit Tigers fine

By Joe Walljasper Tribune sports editor

Sunday

Aug 31, 2008 at 12:01 AM

ST. LOUIS - Gary Pinkel is paid to worry while the rest of us sleep, so he undoubtedly spent some recent nights getting familiar with the nuances of his bedroom ceiling. As experienced as the Tigers were entering the season, they did have a new left tackle, a new deep snapper and a new punter - sacks and snaps and shanks, oh my!

And who knew what effect nine months of sugar from fans and media would have on the brains of 20-year-old football players? Quite frankly, it was never necessary to wonder before. The last time Missouri was even considered a threat for a national championship, the pundits were typing their words on Smith Coronas.

Get some sleep, Gary. Sure, you've got some new worries - a curious case of combustible cornerbacks and Jeremy Maclin's sprained ankle - but presumably nothing that can't be solved in a month.

Missouri's 52-42 victory over Illinois last night at the Edward Jones Dome was hairier than it needed to be, but so was last year's Arch Rivalry victory, and that season turned out just fine. You take a chance when you schedule a good opponent in Week 1, and you expose weaknesses that might have gone unnoticed otherwise. You can't be too picky when you beat the 20th-ranked team in the nation by 10 points, although that concept had to be explained to the sixth-ranked Tigers afterward.

"In the locker room, my players were really disappointed, and that upset me a little bit," Pinkel said. "When you win, and you beat a top-20 team, you enjoy it."

Missouri provided a reminder of how many of its players are capable of changing a game for the better. Maclin made sure that Illinois' only lead of the game lasted just 13 seconds. After Illini defensive end Derek Walker intercepted a pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown to give his team a 13-10 advantage in the second quarter, Maclin returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, giving MU the lead for good. He also set up a touchdown in the third quarter with a 46-yard punt return.

But that has become almost expected.

Those pregame worries? Punter Jake Harry didn't take his first long snap from Beau Brinkley until the third quarter and punted without incident four times.

As for Elvis Fisher, he did fine. Better than fine. He and his linemates kept Chase Daniel out of harm's way all night and opened gaping holes for the running game. At times, it looked like a replay of the Cotton Bowl, with Derrick Washington reprising the role of Tony Temple, charging deep into the secondary before first contact and breaking tackles when he got there.

Say this for the Illinois defense: It neutralized Maclin. He had four catches for 32 yards and rushed three times for 2 yards before injuring his left ankle while running a pass route in the fourth quarter. He left the field on a cart, but X-rays were negative. The rest of the offense carried on. Daniel passed for 314 yards, Tommy Saunders caught two touchdown passes and, as usual, Chase Coffman caught a touchdown pass and jumped over a guy in the open field, much to the delight of Missouri's half of the sold-out dome.

The guy who really saved the Tigers' bacon, though, was linebacker Sean Weatherspoon. After seeing experienced defensive backs roasted repeatedly in the second half, and watching Missouri's 25-point third-quarter lead dwindle to 10, Weatherspoon decided enough was enough. He stopped a deep drive into MU territory with an interception. And midway through the fourth quarter, he inserted the dagger, ripping a pass out of the hands of Illinois running back Daniel Dufrene and returning it 30 yards for a touchdown. Those are plays that winners make.

The reason Missouri needed those big plays was that its defense went overboard on the aggression and repeatedly gave up big plays. With 10 starters back on defense, that side of the ball figured to be the least of MU's worries.

The Tigers confused Williams early with a beehive of activity before the snap, blitzing cornerbacks and safeties. And they did do some damage in the backfield. Stryker Sulak, alone, had three sacks.

But in the second half, MU kept up the aggression despite its big lead and paid the price for crowding Illinois receivers with no safety help deep. Williams threw touchdown passes of 20, 25 and 65 yards and finished with an outlandish 458 yards and five touchdowns through the air.

Missouri's defense is better and smarter than that.

It has a month to sort out those problems. A three-week homestand against Southeast Missouri, Nevada and Buffalo should be therapeutic ? and a chance to catch on some sleep.

Reach Joe Walljasper at (573) 815-1783 or jwalljasper@tribmail.com.

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